• Latest on JSF: Reuters and Bloomberg report that Leon Panetta is about to announce that the F-35-B is off probation; Canadian industrial participation; 1st night flight; 3rd F-35B delivered; F-35C tail hook redesign.

• Israel’s IDF now believes that unrest in Syria has allowed Hezbollah to seize SA-8/ 9K33 vehicle-mounted surface-air missiles. They’re worried that Syria’s large chemical arsenal could also be vulnerable.

• K-Street Washington lobbyists see promise in the 2012 retirees, but how’s this for a blunt assessment? “Republicans are bonds. Dems are the options you play with the last 20 percent of your money…”

• The US Coast Guard is getting more and more interested in underwater inspection & surveillance. Their Research & Development Center is currently evaluating an advanced Underwater Imaging System (UIS) from CodaOctopus.

• Meanwhile, WSG has finished the initial demonstrations of their Argus One platform to the U.S. Department of Defense at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site. Yes, this is our unmanned blimp, and yes, we are happy to see you.

• Could the same gas hydrates that caused the BP Deepwater Horizon’s blowup become a stable, low-energy input energy storage medium for hydrogen?

• Algorithms matter. Researchers have developed one that offers up to 10x improvement on the fast Fourier transform, widely used for tasks like image compression.

• Did the US Army’s policy of refusing to arm MEDEVAC helicopters, in a war against illegal combatants, cause the death of a US service member? Rep. Tom Akin [R-MO-2] is upset. The US Army responds.

• Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy’s principal deputy Dr. James N. Miller will replace her when she leaves next month according to Yahoo News.

• Memo from the Pentagon: “Multiple U.S. Army Public Health Command studies of basic trainees have demonstrated that shoe selection based on arch type does not reduce injuries.” They do have a lot of soldiers running, so they ought to know a thing or 2. What follows are tips and cautions re: using new “minimalist” running shoes like the New Balance Minimus.

• It’s hard to call people who pay farmers 1/1,000th of their crop’s value Marxists, but FARC tries to wear the mask. Turns out they’re under pressure on the cocaine front, so they’re switching to… cattle rustling.

TCOM 32M

In December 2011, TCOM, LP in Columbia, MD received a $10.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for the Kuwait Low Altitude Surveillance System aerostat’s contractor engineering technical support (CETS). While the aerostat itself could be handled by commercial sale protocols, CETS operation and maintenance of the KLASS aerostat is considered to be a Foreign Military Sale item, in pursuit of a “mission essential asset for this sensitive region of the world.” Work will be performed in Kuwait (90%); Columbia, MD (5%); and Elizabeth City, NC (5%), and is expected to be complete by December 2013. Kuwait directed its agents at US Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA to sole-source this buy (M67854-12-C-2404).

These kinds of tethered lighter-than-air craft come in a range of sizes, and aerostats have become a global trend. Their ability to carry sensors aloft for weeks at a time greatly improves radar and/or optical surveillance systems’ field of view at near-zero per-hour deployment costs. This makes them especially effective at protecting military bases or key national infrastructure, but they’ve also been deployed to provide coverage over cities, border patrol, and coastal surveillance. Larger aerostats, like the TCOM 71s used in the USA’s JLENS system, can offer the kind of coverage that normally requires high-end AWACS aircraft.

Ripple effect

Sharp criticism of IAF for aerostat crash, procurement failure; Plans for 9 more? (Sept 9/11)

As countries recognize the need to watch their borders, and especially their coasts, they’re running up against the reality of high operating costs for aerial surveillance. They’re also turning to a logical way around that problem: aerostats. These tethered airships offer very low operating costs and near-constant deployment, carrying optical and radar surveillance gear to altitudes that give them wide-area coverage. Israel has joined the USA as a leading developer of these systems, and a leading exporter as well. One of its customers is India.

In 2007, the Tamil Tigers’ (LTTE), which was responsible for assassinating Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, attacked Sri Lankan military bases and oil facilities using an unusual weapon for guerrillas and terrorists: aircraft. The implications of those attacks were regional in scope, and in time, aerostats’ value would be driven home by another surprise, this time from Islamic LET terrorists operating from Pakistan. The gaps it revealed in India’s defenses, and the deployment of the existing Israeli aerostat systems to protect critical areas in the attack’s aftermath, strongly underlined the systems’ value. Now India’s Navy is now buying them, too, and additional purchases are expected…

• Flying Tigers, and Unease in India
• The Aerostat Solution
• Updates and Developments [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

TARS, deployed

An aerostat is a lighter-than-air craft that relies on a ground tether for movement and sometimes for electrical power as well, as opposed to blimps which are self-powered, free-flying craft. The US military has slowly come around to the benefits of aerostats in an era that requires persistent surveillance, but features high fuel prices.

The RAID program has morphed into the tower-centric GBOSS, and progress on the naval front remains slow, but the $1+ billion JLENS advanced aerial surveillance program is still moving ahead, and Lockheed Martin has delivered its PTDS aerostats to the front lines for ground surveillance duties. TARS is also part of this mix, with several firms participating in the program…

• Two members of the Commission on Wartime Contracting say that $30 billion-worth of expenditure on contracts and grants in Afghanistan and Iraq have been wasted through poor planning, shifting requirements and negligence. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must do better.

• Flight Global/PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) Top 100 Special Report: 2010 a year of rebound says that while the aerospace sector enjoyed a 2% growth in revenue, defense spending remains flat. The list of the 20 largest aerospace companies by revenues [PDF] remains relatively unchanged, with Boeing and EADS maintaining their top positions.

• China continues to refute the findings of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) annual report on its military and security policies. The deputy secretary of the China Society of Military Science labels the report as ‘groundless’ and a product of Cold War thinking.

• BAE Australia has delivered the 1st Hobart Class Destroyer ship block to project lead, ASC, but only after some very high profile problems at their shipyard.

• Dragon, Britain’s 4th Type 45 Air Defense Destroyer, is sailing to Portsmouth for acceptance by the Royal Navy.

• Indian media say that the freed ship MV Nafis-1 contained evidence that Pakistan is supporting some Somali pirates.

• Chile is set to receive its final batch of F-16 fighters from the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF).

• A French Mirage fighter and Lithuanian L-39 Albatross trainer collide midair during exercises.

• The first photographs emerge of Chinese aircraft on display at the Changchun First Aviation Open Day. The pictures come days after photographs suggesting that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) J-11B heavy fighter is operational.

• Opinions vary as to the make and role of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crashed over southwest Pakistan last week.

Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) has recently disclosed the following Requests for Proposals (RFPs), modifications and other notifications:

• The US Army adds a draft solicitation amendment in support of its proposal to purchase 83 Cerebrus systems modified to integrate with a Government furnished ‘golden unit’ Standard Ground Station (SGS). The acquisition is set aside for small businesses and will be subject to a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract. All base contract quantities must be delivered within 12 months of the award date.
  Continue Reading… »

• Following the release of its annual assessment of China’s military power, a US Department of Defense official suggests that Beijing has also developed a ‘workable design’ of its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. Meanwhile, China has continued its condemnation by saying the report indulged in exaggeration and ‘groundless suspicion’.

• Successful test of the CONECT upgrade to USAF B-52H heavy bombers; program on track to finish ground and flight tests in October 2011.

• EADS passes a half way point, delivers the 180th UH-72A light utility helicopter to the US military.

• The US Navy confirms the successful test-flight of a T-45 Goshawk trainer using biofuel.

• Following Hugo Chavez’s recent gratitude for Russian assistance in re-equipping Venezuela’s armed forces, diplomatic sources reveal that Moscow is preparing to loan Caracas an additional $4 billion for military purchases.

• The US Air Force awards Vision Systems International a $36 million contract for electrical and electronic equipment components.

• Rosoboronexport delivers 6 Mi-17 helicopters to Indonesia. A $56 million contract was signed by Jakarta and the state-owned corporation for the helicopters.

• The US military continues to reallocate hundreds of millions toward surveillance, mostly for Special Operations. But are they looking for ISR in all the wrong places?

• With the end of the Libyan conflict seemingly in sight, a number of interesting stories are beginning to emerge. France confirms the deployment of its EADS/IAI Harfang unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Libyan airspace. Qatar also punched above its weight by providing military training and special forces.

TCOM 17M RAID Aerostat

$9.5M in tower sensors; $10M in spares; Full public access enabled. (Aug 23/11)

The RAID program is a combination of cameras and surveillance equipment positioned on high towers and aerostats, in order to monitor a wide area around important locations and bases. The RAID concept began with a smaller TCOM 17M aerostat as the base platform, instead of the TCOM 71M JLENS aerostats used for cruise missile and air defense. Its sensors were also optimized for battlefield surveillance, rather than JLENS’ focus on powerful air defense radars. The result is a form of survivable and permanent surveillance over key areas that has been deployed to Afghanistan & Iraq.

“Aerostats” has actually become something of a misnomer, however – RAID can also be deployed as a tower system, and this “Eagle Eye/ GBOSS” deployment is turning out to be the preferred mode. Raytheon continues to receive contracts from the US Marine Corps and US Army for new towers, as well as maintenance of existing systems…

• RAID: Components and Features
• RAID: Contracts & Key Events, FY 2006-2011 [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

Lockheed HAA Concept

Article & program updates; HAA prototype failure. (Aug 1/11)

DARPA’s ISIS program is developing a stratospheric airship with sensor antennas that will include a radar nearly as large as the airship. This would create a battlefield surveillance platform with extreme endurance, and equally extreme resolution for its air and battlefield scans via radar and other carried sensors. This project is associated with Lockheed’s High Altitude Airship program, which is intended to soar at over 65,000 feet for over 30 days at a time, and ISIS could even play a significant role in ballistic missile and cruise missile defense.

Like all DARPA projects, HAA and ISIS pushed the limits of technology, as they work to field a capability set that could revolutionize the US Air Force. If they succeed, these airships could serve as a future substitute for an array of platforms, from UAVs to high-end jets like the E-8 JSTARS and E-3 AWACS. Critical technology areas include low aerial-density advanced airship hull material, bonding systems that will keep the radar attached in a hostile environment, extremely low-power transmit-receive modules for the radars, and novel power systems for long-endurance stratospheric airship operation. HAA has become a US Army program, but ISIS remains with DARPA – for now…

• HAA & ISIS: Capabilities & Objectives [updated]
• HAA: Challenges
• ISIS: Challenges [updated]
• HAA & ISIS: Programs [updated]
• HAA & ISIS: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

• Brookings Institution and University of Maryland scholars tell the National Bureau of Asian Research that the United States and India should co-develop weapons technology to overcome technology transfer restrictions. They also argue that India’s rejection of US bids for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirement was based upon worries over supply reliability.

• The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) announces the development of the National Training Estate Prime (NTEP) contract. The contract value may reach £900 million ($1.4 billion).

• The US Marines have doubled their AV8-B Harriers’ weapons loads in Afghanistan, by moving the planes’ LITENING target pod.

• The first 4 of 24 new F-16 C/D Block 52 fighter jets have left Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, TX, on a ferry flight to Morocco.

• Turkey’s BMC is rumored to have orders for its blast-resistant Kirpi vehicle from Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Russia is planning to buy up to 120 Iskander-M (SS-26 Stone) tactical missile systems. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry is reportedly putting the final touches to technical specifications for the replacement of its Voevoda (SS-18 Satan) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

• The Czech Defense Ministry is to impose sanctions on Omnipol because defects on its new EADS CASA C-295 turboprop transport aircraft have not been repaired on time.

• South Africa’s Hawk trainers are receiving upgrades; now they can also use GPS-guided Umbani glide bombs, with a 40km/24 mile range.

• A photograph emerges reportedly showing changes to China’s fifth J-10B prototype multirole fighter.